Baking utensil



Patented Sept. 16, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BAKING UTENSIL Gerhard A. Ellestad, Rochester, N. Y.

i Application August 26, 1944, Serial No. 551,321

This invention relates to improvements in baking utensils such as wallie irons or the like embodying one or more baking grids.

One of the objects of my invention is to pro vide a. baking utensil of the type described having means associated therewith for severing' the baked article before it is removed from the utensil. A further object is to provide a wafIie iron which is relatively simple in structure yet convenient and eilicient in operation and embodies means for severing the baked wallie. Another object is to provide a wallie iron having knife means movably mounted on one of the grids and adapted to be selectively moved for cutting the baked wallie before it is removed from the wallie iron. These and other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts as will hereinafter be more fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a sectional View of a wallie iron embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the normal position of the knife relative to the grids and a wallie therebetween.

claims. (o1. ssa- 3721 Fig 3 is a similar view showing the position of the parts after the knife has severed the wallie.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the severing knife.

A preferred embodiment of my invention, shown in the drawings, is the wallie iron having the usual upper grid |53' connected to the lower grid I I by the hinge member I2. The lower grid II is supported in the lower casing member I3 carried by the base I4 and the upper grid I9 carries the upper casing I5. The lower grid may be heated by any suitable means such as the annular electrical heating unit I 6 secured to the underside of the grid while the upper grid I0 is heated by a similar heating unit Il. The electrical heating units are connected by suitable means, not shown, to a source of electrical current. vA handle I8, attached to the upper casing I5, provides means for swinging the upper casing and grid about the hinge I2 to open the wallie iron for the purpose of pouring batter onto the gridv or for the removal of a baked wallie.

Extending above the upper side ofthe grid IU is the integrally formed projection I9 which is substantially coextensive in length with the inner diameter of the annular heating unit I'I. The lower side of grid i0 carries the integrally formed projection 2|! which is substantially coextensive in length with the inner diameter of the grid I0 so that the projection 20 will be substantially coextensive with the diameter of a wallie which is baked against grid IIJ. The projection I9 is positioned directly above projection 29 and the latter projection is the longer because it extends across the inner diameter of the grid I0, whereas the projection I9 merely extends across the inner diameter of the annular heating unit I'I. Both of the projections I9 and 2|) are slotted, as shown at 2 I, throughout their entire lengths.

Mounted for vertical sliding movement in the slot 2| is the severing means or knife 22 having a centrally positioned, apertured part 23 by means of which it is secured to the plunger .21| with screw 25. The plunger 24 is encircled by the coil spring y26 having one of its ends resting on the top of projection I9 and the other end in yieldable engagement with the shoulder 21 fixed to the plunger 24 so that the latter is normally urged upwardly and thus holds the knife 22 in the inoperative position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, The plunger 24 extends upwardly through the aper ture 23 in casing I5 and carries at its upper end the hand-engaging knob 29 whereby the knife 22 may be selectively depressed to sever a baked wallie W as shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in Figs. 2-4, the knife 22 has the integral slide portions 30 which slide vertically in the slot 2| formed in projection I9 and the coextensive underlying projection 29. Adjacent the respective end portions of knife 22 are the integral slide portions 3| which slidably engage the slot 2| formed in projection 20 beyond the respective ends of projection I9. The knife 22 has a tapered cutting portion 32 formed by converging sides which are connected to the slide portions by the shoulders 33, as clearly shown in Figs. 1-3. When the knife is in the normal, inoperative position, shown in Fig. 2, the spring 26 urges the knife 22 upwardly so that the shoulders 33 are held firmly against the face of the projection 2|) adjacent the slot 2|. With such a construction, the wallie batter is prevented from oozing up through the slot 2|.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a wallie may be baked in my iron and may be removed in one piece in the usual manner. Quite frequently, however, when the baked wallie is removed from the iron in one piece, it is necessary to cut it into two or more pieces so as to serve two or more individuals. If such a division into two parts is necessary, it can be conveniently effected with the disclosed embodiment of my invention since the baked waffle may be selectively severed by merely depressing the plunger 24 before the wallie is removed from the iron. If it is desired to cut the Waiile into four parts instead of two, it is obvious that additional knife means could be provided at right angles to the knife 22 so as to effect such a result. Such additional knife means could, for example, be selectively operated by plunger means arranged coaxially with plunger 24. Although I have shown my invention as applied to a utensil for baking a round wailie, it is obvious that it could also be applied to waffle irons wliicnbake waiesiir other shapes such as a rectangularshape, for example; These` and other modifications can, of course, be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as pointed out in the appended claimsv I claim:

1. A waiile iron comprising two cooperating baking grids adapted to bake an article therebeitween, one of said grids having a slot extending substantially across the grid, knife means movably mounted in .the slot, yieldable meansnormally holding. the knifevmeansjnlan inoperative position, andlmeanslfor moving said,knife .means against.Y the action; of the.v yieldabley meansto an operative positionf forV severing` thefbakedY article to divide it into parts before. removalfrom. the

iron.

2., In a1, wallie ironor thelike, the, combination of` apair of opposed grids, alcasingsecured to-one grid, a knife mountedaonl saidgrid and. extendingacross the,l face thereof, said.. knife being mounted for',v movementv toward the other grid whereby an= article-baked betweenthe grids may be'selectivelyy severed to-dividelit, yieldable means carried; in the. casing' for normallyY holding the knife ininoperative relation-,andoperating means externaliof the casing for moving', the knife.' to sever thearticlee 3. A waiile. iron comprising, upper and lower grids, the=upper`grid1having 'a slot'formed therein and; extending acrosstfhe faceof the grid, a knife mounted` forvertical' movement in saidI slot, a vertical plunger secured toV` the, knife, spring means: normally; urging said plunger andV knife upwardly, ai casing above said upper grid, means in the casing for heatingzi the. grid, said casing having an aperture through which the end of the plunger extends whereby the plunger may be depressed for actuating the knife to sever a wallie between the grids to divide it into parts before removal from the iron,

4. A waiile baking device or the like comprising spaced upper and lower baking grids, one of the grids having an integral projection extending across its inner face, said projection having a s1'ot,aknife Vmounted inlsaid4 slot for movement towards and awayffrom the`v other grid, said knife having shoulder portions adjacent its cutting edge, spring means normally urging the knife away. from the other grid so that the shoulder portions are held against the projection, and means. for-selectively moving the knife towards the other grid to sever a waffle after it has been baked between the grids.

5;,Imawa1ile iron or the like having two cooperating baking grids adapted to bake an article therebetween, article cuttingy means movably mounted on one of the grids for movement to.- wards the otherv grid forv selectively cutting the baked` articleA to divide. it into parts beforeA removal. from the` iron, and means for` actuating the cutting meansL GERHARD A. ELLESTAD,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ie, of this patent:

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2,139,334. Rebois ,Dec. 6,1938 1,641,455 Quatman Sept. 61927 557,685 Mains Apr. 7, 1896 850,022. Lewis Apr.V 9, 1907l 1,603,941 Edwards Oct. 19, 1926 1,371,195 Boyce Mar. 8, 1921 2,167,729 Shelton et a1 Aug. 1, 11939 2,300,061 Purpura Oct. 27, 1942 1,978,872 Wharton Oct. 3,0, 1934 2,207,264-v NeubergerY July 9,1940 1,613,223v Davis Jan. 4, 1927 

